In the April 2009 issue of Decanter magazine, author Margaret Rand discusses how wineries are dealing with the recession. She makes an interesting point about how small businesses are persevering while the big guys are drowning in debt and going out of business.
Quoting wine consultant Mike Paul, Margaret discusses wineries in the context of small businesses in general:
“‘How will the independents cope? The usual ways, is the answer: by being flexible and imaginative, by giving better service, and by being leaner and fitter than their rivals.’ On the plus side, Paul says that ‘family businesses are six times less worried about going under than normal businesses. Their cost base isn’t that high, and they have less debt and are better prepared for a recession.’”
Six times less worried? I’m not sure worry can be measured this exactly, but the sentiment is an important one. Small businesses are always in a sort of recession. We have a lack of cash flow, a small pool of resources, and we constantly worry about whether we will succeed in both the short and long terms. It’s so refreshing, in the context of panic and the collapsing of some of the country’s largest companies, to hear that small businesses are more likely to “make it.”
Perhaps in the long run the country will be better off for the elimination of big companies that have dominated, and in effect, monopolized, many of our industries. Small book stores that can’t compete with Barnes & Noble would get more business if Barnes & Noble wasn’t around. A small grocery store would welcome a new flood of customers that used to shop at a nearby Schnuck’s.
Can we get back to the days of the corner market, instead of the corner strip mall? I think so. Is it possible that this recession will leave behind an economic climate more friendly to small businesses? I hope so!
We all love some of the things small businesses have to offer, like primo service, unique products, and the feeling that our money is feeding someone’s family as opposed to financing a 12th vacation for a CEO. But many of us compromise all of those good feelings to save a few bucks by shopping at a conglomerate. Is it worth it?
I think now would be a good time for all of us to patronize small businesses. Let’s discourage the monopolizing of every industry and get ready for what lies ahead. Perhaps small businesses are our future.
In the end, it’s the hard work and blood, sweat, and tears of small business owners that will see this economy through the rough times. Making sure the rich stay rich can’t be our priority anymore.
We can help! See our Small Business Web Marketing Website for more information. Free phone consultations available.
I want to expand a bit more on why I named this blog with such an obscure name. I wanted to use outsourcing, but was advised by friends that it would probably be met negatively. You know, American jobs going outside our country is kind of negative.
Actually, I went to my trusty Webster’s Unabridged and looked up outsourcing and you’ve got to check it out to believe it. Outspanning was the very next word! The derivation was explained in our Welcome post, so if you missed it, just check it out.
I thought I’d really caught on to something unique.
While visiting my son and his family recently, I picked up the St.Louis Women’s Journal while having my favorite breakfast (lox/bagel) at Einstein Bros. in Kirkwood.
I read the headline…Can You Blend with an Enemy to Make a Friend? The use of the word “blend” seemed odd, so I read on.
I found I’m not the only one looking for unique words to spice up the vocabulary of old problems. For the next few minutes I was fascinated by Ms. Judy Ryan’s explanation and use of entrainment.
Sidebar: It has nothing to do with railroads.
First, she explained how one must first notice and appreciate the other person. You must have heard the expression, “the customer is always right.” Although Ms. Ryan’s exercise in Emotional Intelligence wasn’t directed toward small business, I picked up a lot of pointers from her article…like agreeing with others’ opinions and being SINCERE about it. She insisted on “entering fully into their viewpoint and how they see the world.”
This stuff has application for business and your life with friends, family members, and enemies. Check it out in the Archives of: www.stlwomensjournal.com – February/March 09.
“Can You Blend With an Enemy to Make a Friend?” ~by Judy Ryan, Expanding Human Potential
I’m actually going to give this a try…perhaps with my husband first.
Seriously, check out this article and please comment on it. It struck me as such a fresh approach.
Best,
Ruth Ann
It’s true, there are many things small businesses can’t afford. Advertising, at hundreds or thousands of dollars per inch for newspapers and magazines, is one of those unaffordable things. You might think that because you can’t afford print or radio advertising, you can’t afford advertising, period.
While it may be that you can’t afford traditional advertising, even if you don’t have a website you can take advantage of e-mail marketing to increase your revenue from existing customers, and even find new customers. The secret to making the most of e-mail marketing is simple: doing it well.
Creating a customer contact list can be as easy as putting a pad of paper next to your cash register. You can ask for as much demographic information as you like, but the less information you request, the more people will sign up. Most people will be willing to give you a name and e-mail address.
You’ll need to purchase a program that supports e-mail marketing in order to comply with spamming regulations. The program will allow anyone who has given you permission to send them e-mails to be entered into the program. Most will also include an e-mail designer with attractive color schemes and easy-to-use templates. This program will double as a way to manage your contact list. Web-based e-mail marketing programs are offered by most web hosting companies and are very inexpensive.
Once you’ve gotten your list started and you’re ready to start sending messages, follow these guidelines to make your efforts more successful:
Do: Tell customers why to sign up. Will they receive special discounts? Sale announcements? Special event invitations? Updates?
Do: Assure customers that you will not sell or share their contact information with third parties.
Do: Consider offering a “thank you” to customers who sign up. You can e-mail them a code for a free or discounted piece of merchandise, or something more personalized like a gift for visiting you during their birthday month. (Note: For this last option, be sure to ask for the customer’s birth month and day, but NOT the year, when they sign up.) Tell people about this incentive when they sign up, and this will encourage them to open the first e-mail they receive, which hopefully sets a pattern of interest in your e-mails and keeps you on customers’ safe lists.
Do: Tell customers your e-mail address so they can add it to their safe lists. Also, be sure to include a reply-to address in every message.
Do: Tell customers how often they will receive messages. (Never send more than one e-mail per week, unless the content is completely unique.)
Do: Keep your messages short (preferably under 300 words). Organize your messages in lists and short paragraphs, like a web page. Use formatting such as bold type and headings to help customers find the most important information quickly.
Do: Get right to the point in your writing. If you’re having a sale, don’t waste a paragraph introducing it. Remember, most people will scan your message rather than read it word for word. That said, be sure to include exceptions, expiration, special conditions, and other details of any offer you describe in an e-mail.
Do: Encourage your readers to forward the e-mail to friends who might be interested. Also, include an opt-in link so that people can remotely subscribe to your list. Your e-mail marketing program will help you with this.
Do: If you aren’t a good writer (be honest with yourself!), find someone else in your company to write your e-mails. If you have to, hire someone who can do the job well. If the writing is awkward, misspelled, or otherwise unprofessional, readers will be distracted from your message.
Equally as important as what to do is what not to do:
Don’t: Sell or share your customers’ contact information, under any circumstances.
Don’t: Include duplicate text in your messages, or customers will quickly stop reading or even opening your messages. Most people can recognize a quick “cut and paste” and they won’t appreciate it. If you just want to remind customers to visit your business but you don’t have a special event to advertise, consider running an e-mail promotion like a special discount. Don’t send a message unless you have something to offer.
Don’t: Paste articles or secondary source material into your messages. It just makes the message overly long. Instead, add a sentence or two and a hyperlink to the original source.
Small Businesses Need Credit
In his February 24th speech to Congress, President Barack Obama said the solution to our economic troubles lies “in the imaginations of our entrepreneurs and the pride of the hardest-working people on Earth.” As of 2003, well over 12.2 million Americans were self-employed. President Obama vowed to make it easier for entrepreneurs to get loans, which may be the only way for us to weather the storm of a struggling economy. Of late, many of us have seen a reduction in available credit that threatens to stop our business’s growth dead in its tracks.
When you own a small business, your life becomes a perpetual to-do list. Not being able to get loans and financing adds insult to injury. It seems as though the system is against us, but in fact the US creates and fosters more independent businesses than any other nation. Now that President Obama is working hard to give us the financial tools for success, it’s up to us to use them wisely.
Inspanning and Outspanning
“Inspanning” is a term of African origin meaning “to yoke an animal.” Inspanning is the process we go through when we start a small business. Slowly we become yoked by the business, which seems to take and take until we feel like we have nothing more to give.
This blog is about “outspanning,” or unyoking yourself from the stress of your business. In its original South African usage, outspanning referred to the unyoking of an animal. We’re going to focus on unyoking people from the oppressive struggle of making ends meet without a surplus of cash. For our purposes, “small business owners” may also be heads of their household, church, or even a small town.
By creating a safe place for small business owners to talk about their struggles and share solutions, we want to help you unyoke yourself from the stress of living and breathing nothing but work. We encourage our readers to share the tricks you’ve discovered for making your business run more smoothly and for relieving stress. How do you keep yourself going every day?